Stepford Plants Report

So I'm sure you are all just on the edge of your seats, waiting to hear about my planting adventures.

As you know, last year I planted five tomato seeds (Moneymaker) on March 31st. The first seed broke through on April 9th. They eventually turned into monsters and provided buckets (literally) of tomatoes. I vowed not to make the same mistakes this year.

I also planted a stick on May 6th that I was told would grow into a plum tree. It grew an impressive array of leaves and some tiny branches over the summer. The leaves fell off for the winter, so we'll be watching to see what happens to the plum stick this year.

So, what's happened so far this year? On a visit to Costco, I noticed they had plants, and I told Eric that if they had a grafted plum tree, I would buy it. Sure enough, they had a grafted plum tree with three varieties of plum on it, so I puchased it and we somehow got it home. We planted it in the back yard on March 19th.

On March 24th, I planted eight seeds for the windowsill. I planted two varieties of tomatoes (Moneymaker and Tiny Tim), a variety of pepper (Yolo Wonder), and some zucchini (Fordhook). Two seeds in each pot. I have watered them regularly each morning, and on the morning of April 1st I saw the first signs of life from the zucchini and the Tiny Tim Tomatoes.

In the morning, they were barely peeking through, but by the afternoon, both Tiny Tim's were up and visible and the zucchini was making sure I knew that it will have to be transplanted sooner rather than later.

Pictures after the jump.

First up, Tiny Tim Tomatoes:

You can barely see them as they have broken the surface and are just starting to peek out and see the sun.

Next up is the zucchini:


The zucchini seeds were about 100 times bigger than the other seeds, and the seedling is clearly going to be so much bigger as well. UPDATE SAT AFTERNOON: The other one has broken through, and I wonder if they can both survive in such a tiny pot.

ALSO UPDATE SAT AFTERNOON: Both of the Moneymakers have also peeked up. Just the peppers left.

Next up we have an establishing shot of the Plum Stick I planted last year:


As you can see, it's still protected by the cage to keep the neighborhood kids from running it down. I removed the supporting string some time ago because it was growing straight and holding well against the wind.

Lastly, here's the Costco Grafted Plum:


You can see there are three main grafts, and each of them is a different type of plum. in a future update I'll indicate what varieties is on each branch. I have the information, but it's out in the shed and I'm not willing to jump up and find it. I know that one of the varieties is the Italian Prune, same as my plum stick. But I'm not the slightest bit disappointed at that. I think the other two are Santa Rosa and Sugar, but I'm not sure.

More reports as things get interesting.